KENNY IN COMMAND
Daniel grabs hat-trick as Arklow United beat Coolboy
COOLBOY RANGERS ARKLOW UNITED 0 4
THE ability to take their chances was one of the main reasons for Arklow United’s 4-0 victory over Coolboy Rangers in the U-12/13 Challenge Cup clash in Coolafancy last Saturday afternoon.
A hat-trick from the talented Daniel Kenny and a single from Luke O’Toole early on put paid to the brave effort from the Coolboy side who came close on numerous occasions but had to give way to a very handy Arklow United side in the end.
The early stages of the game seemed to belong to the home side in a bitterly cold Coolafancy. Early pressure from the Arklow lads was cleared by Cian Byrne before Ivan Ivanoff’s shot was cleared at the other end by some diligent defending.
For the next few minutes Coolboy attacked enthusiastically but Luke McDonagh proved more than capable on the Arklow line.
An excellent break from Eddie Conlon for Coolboy saw his shot cleared while Killian O’Keeffe’s effort was also thwarted and after 18 minutes Coolboy had nothing to show for their efforts.
Arklow broke down the field and a lovely ball to Luke O’Toole saw him fire home past Callum Keenaghan in the Coolboy Rangers goal with 20 minutes on the clock.
Now it was Arklow’s turn to dominate. Daniel Kenny produced a fine shot that was saved well by the Coolboy netminder while Lee Doyle blazed wide at the other end.
Coolboy were hunting for an equaliser but were always conscious of how dangerous the Ark- low lads were on the break. Eddie Conlon must have wondered what exactly he was going to have to do to score when his first shot was saved by Luke McDonagh in the Arklow goal and his follow up came back off the post and was saved with 25 minutes on the clock.
Coolboy kept asking questions of the Arklow side and had a number of corners but failed to harvest any goals.
A fine pass from Luke O’Toole to Daniel Kenny saw the attacker’s shot blocked by the hugely impressive Thomas Kelly while a nervy moment from Callum Keenaghan almost resulted in a Daniel Kenny goal late in the opening half but the Coolboy goalkeeper saved his blushes just in time.
The early stages of the second half saw both teams really go for the jugular in this game. Thomas Kelly had an early free for Coolboy while Eddie Conlon troubled the Arklow defence but Adam Walker stood tall.
The Arklow side were always dangerous on the attack and Adam Walker called the crossbar into action with a blistering shot as the pace of the game picked up considerably.
The final move was what was letting Coolboy Rangers down at this stage but they needed a goal and fast to stake a serious claim for victory. Alas, for the home side, defensive uncertainty allowed Daniel Kenny the chance to unleash a sweet strike and the Arklow attacker buried his shot to the bottom corner of the Coolboy net with 15 gone in the second half.
Coolboy attacked with vengence but could only register four wides, one each from Lee Doyle, Eddie Conlon, Barry Kealy and the excellent Thomas Kelly from a free.
Soon after, Arklow United again proved how dangerous they are on the break when Daniel Kelly got on the end of a sweeping move to direct a powerful shot low and hard to the back of the Coolboy net to effectively end this game as a contest with 21 minutes gone.
Credit to Coolboy, they never once threw in the towel and Barry Kealy brought a great save out of Luke McDonagh.
However, with 28 minutes gone it was that man Kenny who secured his hat-trick with another excellent strike to make it 4-0 to the visitors and they progress in the competition after a brave effort from the Coolboy Rangers lads.
Arklow United: 1. Luke McDonagh, 2. Luke O’Toole, 6. Finn Scott, 7. Cian Smyth, 9. Daniel Kenny, 10. Adam Walker, 11. Daragh Higgins, 12. Adam Collier, 15. Caleb Doyle.
Coolboy Rangers: 1. Callum Keenaghan, 2. Thomas Kelly, 3. Killian O’Keeffe, 5. Lee Doyle, 6. Barry Kealy, 7. Bryan Tallon, 8. Sean Walsh, 10. Eddie Conlon, 11. Eoin Ivanoff, 12. Cian Walker, 15. Will Doyle, 16. Cian Byrne.
Referee: W O’Brien